Willis m



No. 6l5,l 35. Patented Nov. 29, I898. W. M. BOWMAN.

FOLDING STOOL.

(Application filed Mar. 80, 1898.)

(No Model.)

- UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

WILLIS M. BOIVMAN, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN LEISEMEN, OF SAME PLACE.

FOLDING STOOL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 615,135, dated November 29, 1898.

Application filed March 3 0, 18 9 8.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIs M. BOWMAN, of Indianapolis, county of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Folding Stool; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts.

My invention has for its object the construction of a folding stool that can be folded into a very small compass, so that it can be carried in a pocket, and also will be very strong and comfortable.

The full nature of my invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the description and claims following.

In the drawings, Figure I is a perspective of the folding stool in position for use. Fig. II is an elevation of the same. Fig. III is a perspective of the stool folded and placed in a box, the lid and a portion of the box being re moved. Fig. IV is an elevation of an end of the stool when folded.

In detail I show eight supporting-bars 1, made, preferably, of wood and of the same dimensions and form. Taking these in pairs, I pivot them together at one end by bolts 2, that also extend through and are secured to angle-irons or cars 3, as shown. There being four pairs, it is obvious that there will be four of these angle-irons or ears and'that one ear of each angle-iron will be connected with one pair of supporting-bars and the other car with the adjacent pair of supporting-bars. The ears of the angle-irons 3 are at right angles to each other, as shown, when four pairs of bars are used. Between the bars of each pair I place a washer 4.. From this description it is clear that when the bars are all fastened they will be in the form shown in Fig. IV, the bars of each pair being side by side. The stool is formed for use by turning one bar of each pair downward and the other bar upward. To the upper ends of the four upwardly-extending bars the seat 5 is secured,

Serial No. 675,820. (No model.)

being made of canvas or any other suitable material, so long as it is flexible.

To prevent the downwardly-extending bars or legs from spreading, two plates or links 6 are employed, crossing each other at right angles and each provided with a longitudinal slot, through which they are secured at one end to the legs on one side. At the other end they are provided with one or more notches to catch over the pin 8 on the opposite legs. These plates or links are provided with corresponding notches 9 in their engaging edges to cause the two to interlock and prevent twisting or displacement of the legs under weight. The seat is prevented from collapsing by the links 10, that are pivoted at their upper end to the upper bars and slotted longitudinally at their lower end, through which they are secured to the lower bars by the pins 11. Thus it is seen that each pair of bars can be folded side by side, making four pairs, that fit snugly together and are held in place by the angle-irons or ears 2. The plates or links 6 and 10, by reason of the slots in them, can be snugly folded in, so that their ends will not extend beyond the ends of the bars 1 when folded. The whole can be folded thus and placed in a box, as shown.

.The stool folds so compactly that a stool for an adult goes into a box three inches square and twelve inches long, so that it can be carried in a pocket or otherwise very conveniently. Likewise the construction renders the stool very strong, and yet the connection of the four pairs of bars by the four angleirons is sufficiently yielding to cause the four legs to adjust themselves to any reasonable irregularities in the surface upon which the stool is placed. This latter is an important feature, not only for comfort, but more especially for durability and strength, as thereby the strain is distributed evenly throughout the device.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A folding stool including three or more 10 extending bar beside a downwardly-extenderases ing bar at their engaging ends, twoveared an gle-irons connecting said pivoting-bolts together in series, and means for preventing the lower ends of the lower bars from spreading.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my I 5 hand this 12th day of March, 1898.

\VILLIS M. BOlVMAN. \Vitnesses:

V. H. LocKWooD, J. LEISEMAN. 

